United Nations

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World Population Just Hit a Milestone

It's estimated to top 8B for the first time on Tuesday

(Newser) - You are now one of 8 billion people on the planet, according to UN estimates. The organization calculates the world population will cross the 8 billion mark on Nov. 15, though it admits it could be off as counting every single person on the planet is nearly impossible. Regardless, the...

Head of UN Climate Talks Bristles Over Summit 'Glitches'

Egypt's foreign minister slams media for focusing on event's food, drink issues, not climate change

(Newser) - Drinks are on the house at this year's UN climate talks, and the price of food will be slashed in half, Egypt's foreign minister said Thursday, following complaints from delegates that they were struggling to get food and water during the event. But on another issue that threatened...

UN Chief: We&#39;re On the &#39;Highway to Climate Hell&#39;
UN Chief: We're On the
'Highway to Climate Hell'
THE RUNDOWN
Nov 7, 2022 1:03 PM CST

UN Chief: We're On the 'Highway to Climate Hell'

'Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish,' he tells COP27 climate conference

(Newser) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres spoke at the start of the COP27 climate conference in Egypt Monday—and he didn't try to sugarcoat his warning about the scale of the challenge the world faces. "Humanity has a choice: cooperate or perish," he told delegates in Sharm el-Sheikh, per...

Big UN Majority Tells Russia to Drop Land Grab

Support for Ukraine exceeds Western nations' hopes

(Newser) - The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Wednesday to condemn Russia's "attempted illegal annexation" of four Ukrainian regions and demand its immediate reversal, a sign of strong global opposition to the seven-month war and Moscow's attempt to grab its neighbor's territory. The vote in the 193-member world...

Russia Now Getting Weapons From North Korea
Russia Now Has
a New Arms Dealer
Sep 6, 2022 7:41 AM CDT

Russia Now Has a New Arms Dealer

Purchase of artillery shells, rockets a sign of desperation, says US official

(Newser) - With global sanctions preventing Russia from seeking military equipment from its usual sources, the country has now turned to North Korea. Russia, which recently purchased Iranian drones, is now buying millions of artillery shells and short-range rockets from Pyongyang, according to US intelligence. It's a sign of what one...

US Keeps Over 40K in Solitary: Report

States pass or take up legislation to limit the practice

(Newser) - American prisons are holding tens of thousands of inmates in solitary confinement—a practice much of the world calls a human rights violation and the United Nations considers torture. Between 41,000 and 48,000 men and women were being kept for an average of 22 hours a day, for...

UN Chief: We're a Step Away From 'Nuclear Annihilation'

Antonio Guterres calls on nations to reaffirm Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty

(Newser) - The United Nations chief warned the world Monday that "humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation." Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gave the dire warning at the opening of the long-delayed high-level meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear...

Red Cross Pushes to See Wounded in Prison

Condemnation by UN isn't sufficient, Zelensky says after attack

(Newser) - Ukrainian and Russian officials blamed each other Saturday for the deaths of dozens of Ukrainian prisoners of war in an attack on a prison in a separatist-controlled area. The International Red Cross asked to visit the prison to make sure the scores of wounded POWs had proper treatment but said...

Deal Breaks Grain Impasse
Russia, Ukraine Sign Grain Deal
Jul 22, 2022 4:05 PM CDT

Russia, Ukraine Sign Grain Deal

UN calls wartime agreement unprecedented as Kyiv government expresses doubts

(Newser) - Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements Friday with Turkey and the United Nations clearing the way for the export of millions of tons of desperately needed Ukrainian grain—as well as some Russian grain and fertilizer—across the Black Sea. The long-sought deal ends a wartime standoff that has threatened...

The Wedding May Save a Family. But the Bride Is 8

Experts warn of child marriage, for some an alternative to starvation, amid catastrophe

(Newser) - Nyekuoth Manyuan dreamed of becoming a doctor. Instead, at 14, she was taken from her village of Kueryiek in South Sudan and wed to a 25-year-old man in exchange for 60 cattle. "I know I'm young," Nyekuoth told CBS News foreign correspondent Debora Patta. "But the...

Vetoes Block US Bid to Add Sanctions for North Korea

China, Russia oppose resolution, the first major UN Security Council split over the issue

(Newser) - A US effort to impose new sanctions on North Korea over its series of intercontinental ballistic missile launches was blocked Thursday in the United Nations. China and Russia vetoed the resolution, making the Security Council vote 13-2. It was the first major split among the five nations with vetoes on...

UN Wanted Affordable Housing, Got a Pop Song Instead

In some corners of the UN, bad ideas have too much room to grow

(Newser) - Officials at a UN agency squandered millions of dollars through a demonstrably poor series of decisions, according to a recent New York Times investigation. It was born of good intentions: to build affordable housing in needy areas around the world, along with renewable energy projects. The project gained legs in...

Mariupol Plant Holds 600 Wounded
Mariupol Plant Holds
600 Wounded
Apr 30, 2022 5:30 PM CDT

Mariupol Plant Holds 600 Wounded

UN tries to arrange civilian evacuations

(Newser) - Ukrainian forces fought village by village Saturday to hold back a Russian advance through the country's east, while the UN worked to broker a civilian evacuation from the last defensive stronghold in the bombed-out ruins of the port city of Mariupol. An estimated 100,000 civilians remain in the...

Another Day, Another Dire Report on the Planet

Up to 40% of planet's land is now degraded and we need to address it to alleviate climate change

(Newser) - A new report from the United Nations says land degradation is already affecting half of the Earth's population, because there's a whole lot of land involved. According to the UN's second edition of its "Global Land Outlook" analysis, between 20% and 40% of the planet's...

UN Chief Tours Towns Near Kyiv, Says 'War Is Evil'

But Antonio Guterres didn't directly criticize Russia

(Newser) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has toured devastated areas outside the Ukrainian capital that were occupied by Russian troops. Speaking to journalists on Thursday at several points, Guterres urged Russia to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, the AP reports. That’s after the bodies of civilians were found in...

Plans Set for World's First Floating City

Construction to begin next year in Busan, South Korea

(Newser) - South Korea's second-largest city will reportedly play host to the world’s first "floating city." The major port city of Busan has partnered with the United Nations' Human Settlements Program and sustainable design startup Oceanix to develop a 15.5-acre floating city made up of three connected...

UN Warns 350K Children Could Die in Drought by June

In Somalia, some 1.4M under age 5 are malnourished

(Newser) - "The situation cannot be more dire," said Adam Abdelmoula , a UN humanitarian official. Unless something is done quickly about the drought in Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula said, "350,000 of the 1.4 million severely malnourished children in the country will perish." The drought is Somalia's...

UN Delivers Rare Rebuke to Russia
UN Delivers Rare 
Rebuke to Russia
Apr 7, 2022 11:15 AM CDT

UN Delivers Rare Rebuke to Russia

World body suspends nation from Human Rights Council, only the second such penalty ever

(Newser) - The UN General Assembly voted Thursday to suspend Russia from the organization’s leading human rights body over allegations of horrific rights violations by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. The vote was 93-24 with 58 abstentions, and the AP notes that the number of anti-Russia votes was significantly lower than in...

At First Emergency UN Session in Decades, a Vote

141 of 193 member states voted for resolution condemning invasion, calling for withdrawal

(Newser) - Most of the world lined up against Moscow in the United Nations on Wednesday: The UN General Assembly voted to demand that Russia stop its offensive and immediately withdraw all troops from Ukraine, with world powers and tiny island states alike condemning Moscow. The vote was 141 to 5, with...

US Asks 12 Russian Diplomats to Leave

UN ambassador finds explanation inadequate

(Newser) - US officials accused 12 Russian diplomats at the United Nations of "espionage activities" on Monday and asked them to leave the country. The US said the expulsions had been in the works for months, long before Russia invaded Ukraine, CNN reports. But Vassily Nebenzia, Russian ambassador to the UN,...

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